Parents unhappy with new Thunder Mtn. student pick-up

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - Parents at one local elementary school are frustrated with the amount of time it takes to pick up their kids, after a new student pick up plan is implemented.

Previously, parents of Thunder Mountain Elementary School pulled into the bus lane to pick up their kids, which caused the overflow of cars to park on the narrow two lane road and block traffic.

Any cars that were trying to get through would go around the parked cars, heading straight into oncoming traffic.

It wasn’t only the wait time that concerned the parents and District 51 before, but also their kid’s safety.

"We were concerned about kids darting out into traffic and not being seen by vehicles that were having to go all the way around the ones that were parked in the middle of the road," said Tim Leon, with District 51.

"It creates a hazard for any vehicles that need to get here for emergencies, it makes it impossible to get through," said Kathy Nelson, a concern parent.

Now parents are directed into the school’s parking lot.

It hasn’t decreased the waiting time for parents, but it has made it safer for the students.

The school's traffic increased after District 51 had to cut transportation funding, leaving Thunder Mountain Elementary School with only two buses.

Also, the school was originally built for a smaller crowd; new subdivisions came along, adding more kids after it was built.

To help speed along the pick up process, district officials suggest parents carpool, walk to school to pick up their kids, or delay picking them up by 5 or 10 minutes.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.